Opened five years ago, much of Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista’s popularity lies in its ability to blend the hospitality of Switzerland with West Bengal’s local cuisine and culture while giving each its own authentic niche By Steena Joy
Being the closest five-star luxury hotel near the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Kolkata) International Airport, Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista plays this ace well, considering it will probably be the last project to get permission to be located in such proximity to a security sensitive zone. So this means that guests at the hotel have exclusive, uninterrupted views of planes taking off and landing while they take a dip in the infinity pool on the roof or sip a mocktail on the sundeck. The 147 room Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista is also the only hotel in Kolkata to have 10 suites with their own exclusive outdoor jacuzzis and large open-air terraces. Executive rooms and the Swiss Executive Club lounge provide additional luxury and exclusivity. The award-winning rooftop Sky Lounge is the jewel of the hotel’s three restaurants and bar, offering views over the city.
Located in Rajarhat in the new town area beside the IT hub, the hotel was positioned to offer a distinct mix of leisure and business facilities, being part of a multi-use project that features a mall with shops, restaurants and a multiplex cinema. But its proximity to the airport had its challenges. Marco Saxer, general manager, Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista, reminisces, “I have been here for four years now. When I joined, the hotel was already up and running. But we were still the newest kid on the block. We were near the airport, we had the mall and the biggest ballroom in town. So the rooms always did very well, occupancy increased and we had a stable staff. We did very well in most aspects but we were still very far from the city. This was a minus point we really had to work on and the challenge was to bring guests to this area. Around that time, the new town area was just developing so it had very few residents. There was less populace. So it was a big challenge to attract people here from downtown especially for banqueting.”
But Saxer put his head to the task. The hotel worked on a value for money concept. “We did a lot of things – offering a good price with the quality the Swiss are known for and innovative buffet setups. Being in Bengal, we had to get the food right. To get the taste of the local cuisine right, it took us some time but finally we managed it. After that there has been no looking back,” he elucidates.
Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista is the brand’s first property in India. Not many knew the brand when it opened in Kolkata. Saxer worked on his belief that the success of the hotel had to be through the stomach. “This was one of my main strategies – to bring the people here and to create awareness of the Swissotel brand through the food. With the airport close by and Rajarhat being an IT hub, rooms would always sell but to take it to the next level, we had to get the food right. Unlike in the Americas, F&B in this part of the world will always drive the sales. Food will always be important. More in Bengal than anywhere else.”
Soon the hotel’s restaurants – Durbari (Indian specialty), Cafe Swiss (all day dining), Splash (the rooftop outdoor lounge where guests can dine under the stars in wooden cabanas) and Maaya (the bar lounge) – began winning awards and this helped to create awareness.
The hotel organises a lot of food festivals especially unexplored international cuisines. Saxer explains, “We invite two to three foreign chefs every year. We did a Turkish food festival, a Japan and Kenya. These food festivals have two aspects – one, to create awareness and bring people into the hotel and second, to train my own chefs in these international cuisines so that we can include them in our buffets.”
Adding to this, executive chef Pranay Singh Kumar informs, “Swissotel is part of the FRHI Hotels & Resorts which also includes the Fairmont and Raffles brands. Within the group we have an international chef exchange programme wherein chefs travel to different group hotels across the world. An upcoming exchange is the one we are doing with Fairmont Cairo where that hotel’s chef will be travelling to India in March for an Egyptian food festival here in our hotel and in exchange later in June we will be sending our Bengali chef to Cairo for a Bengali food promotion there. Later in the year we will have chefs from Raffles Bali, for an Indonesian food festival. Our chefs have also gone to the Swissotels in Ankara and Izmir in Turkey and in exchange we have their chefs for our Turkish food promotions usually in November. Our chefs have also gone to Swissotels in Busan, Singapore and Nai Lert Park in Bangkok for Indian food promotions.”
The hotel receives a lot of foreign guests so Chef Pranay has innovated a lot on the buffet and la carte menus as well. He says, “We have always been the the first to introduce many concepts in the city. We introduced the Sunday brunch, kids cooking classes, winter theme parties, grills, ladies night, Valentine’s Day celebrations, etc. Apart from keeping our in-house guests happy, these activities have helped us attract a lot of outside guests as well.”
The hotel uses a lot of social media not only for F&B promotions but also for rooms, jacuzzi promotions, weddings, etc. “We use Facebook a lot. We also hosted the first Instagram party in Kolkata. We try to cover all types of media because Kolkata is still a traditional market,” opines Saxer.
Apart from the business centre and two meeting rooms, over 1000 guests can be accommodated in cocktail/ reception style in Bern (all the meeting facilities are named after places in Switzerland), the largest pillar-free banqueting facility in the city. There are also breakout rooms on the same floor, along with separate pre-function and smoking areas. The hotels’ alpine-inspired Purovel Sport is the fitness centre with a fully equipped gym and views of the infinity pool. The hotel is just minutes away from the Prakirti Tirtha or Eco Park and Mother’s Wax Museum. The park has a jogging track which is used by many of the hotel’s guests. FRHI will be soon launching a tri-brand loyalty programme where members will be able to use their membership across all the three FRHI brands: Raffles, Fairmont and Swissotel.
Interestingly, Saxer started his hospitality career as a chef. “In Switzerland to be a GM, you had to be from the kitchen. So many people like myself, we started in the kitchen. In Switzerland hotels are smaller. And manpower required is not too much. So you work hard and learn everything. The step from chef to director of F&B and then GM is huge but not impossible,” he affirms. He continues, “Even in Switzerland, F&B is a huge revenue booster. When I was chef, my restaurant was more famous than my rooms. Food was driving the revenues.”
Saxer sums up by saying, “You don’t need an MBA to be a GM. All you need is that you have to be a practical thinker and have some vision about where your hotel is going.”